Lauren Gallant is committed to making social justice issues part of her U.S. history teaching. An avid user of Teaching Tolerance materials, she's always in search of tools "that help illuminate the subject matter and the human condition." But the Simi Valley High School, Calif., teacher has a typical challenge: There is little time for…

This study examines the ally development process and behaviors of ten white student affairs educators at four-year institutions in the Bay Area region of Northern California who were identified as racial justice allies by a colleague of color. The methods of this study included a survey to understand the context of multicultural competency in…

Purpose: In this essay, we examine the racial politics of education in the six decades after "Brown". We consider the state of educational policy in an era in which market reform advocates often invoke the spirit of the "Brown" decision even as the Supreme Court has largely vacated the legal framework provided by…

This research project offers educators a close and intimate view of the researcher's personal teaching efforts and a reflective account of responses to instruction. This qualitative reflective self-study includes written records of attempts to create and deliver reading comprehension lessons. It also includes a detailed account of how the…

"Testimonio," as a genre of the dispossessed, the migrant, and the queer, is a response to larger discourses of nation-building and has the potential to undermine the larger narratives that often erase and make invisible the expendable and often disposable labor and experiences of immigrants, the working class, African Americans, and…

This article explores the process and impact of women organizing for educational justice in Northern California by documenting the efforts of a committed group of mothers who sought to address the disproportionate underachievement of Latino and African American students within their city's high school. Using a combined methodology of ethnography…

School leaders must design and lead equitable learning environments for all children, and administration preparation programs must build entry-level administrator capacity to do so. This article describes a study examining social justice/critical consciousness curriculum (intended, implemented, assessed) and instructor demographic characteristics…

While whiteness studies at most institutions aims to expose the persistence of white supremacy to a disbelieving audience, whiteness studies within the College of Ethnic Studies (COES) at San Francisco State University (SFSU) begins with the assumption that racism still exists. The course then traces how whiteness is constructed and fortified to…

The 2015-16 Pro-Kid Policy Agenda for California is the only comprehensive roadmap at the state level for policymakers, stakeholders, and others who want all children--especially children of color and children from low-income families--to have the opportunity to reach their full potential. A plethora of research shows that investments in quality…

The persistent failure of public schooling in low-income communities constitutes one of our nation's most pressing civil rights and social justice issues. Many school reformers recognize that poverty, racism, and a lack of power held by these communities undermine children's education and development, but few know what to do about it. "A…

Breaking down the social, political, and cultural processes through which race, class, and gender worldviews are established, ideological literacies help students look closely at the intricate, contradictory meanings in texts. The purpose of developing ideological literacies in urban youth is so they become more socially conscious of the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the essential elements of a community of practice intended to increase communication and collaboration between traditional public and charter school leaders. Members of the Los Angeles Cohort of the School Leaders Network participated in this study. This case study triangulated observation, interview, and…

In this article, the author shares her personal reflections on praxis and social justice through her work in a teacher education program in Los Angeles. She also shares her thoughts of why she became a teacher, why she became an education professor, and of those who inspired her to work in education. She describes the joy in educational work and…

This article addresses the lack of attention universities have given to adjusting liberal education, the undergraduate major for teachers in California, to the increase of multi-ethnic, multi-racial, and social class heterogeneity in state universities. This article argues for a revised pedagogy for undergraduate liberal arts education for teacher…

This contribution considers educational leadership practice to promote and sustain diversity. Comparative case studies are presented featuring educational leaders in the United States and New Zealand who counter injustice in their practice. The leaders' leadership practices responsive to the diversity presented in their schools offer…